September 2 - 31 BCE - The Battle of Actium

The Battle of Actium was the decisive in a civil war which resulted from another civil war that was the aftermath of the assassination of Julius Caesar. Both Octavian and Mark Antony had legitimate claims as Julius Caesar'spolitical heir, as Octavian was Caesar's great-nephew and adopted son while Antony was Caesar's closest political ally. After a power sharing arrangement that went after Caesar's assassins, their alliance fell apart after a decade for many different reasons. Eventually, Octavian compelled the Senate to declare was on Antony and his consort, Queen Cleopatra of Egypt. Octavian's victory would directly lead to his becoming Augustus Caesar and the formation of the Roman Empire.